Power – The Nexus

Digging in Deeper: 2 Timothy 1:7

May 14, 20212 Comments

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

For most of the history of this nation, the Christian church sat in the seat of power. Modern skeptics don’t like to admit this, but the United States was formed on the basis of ideas that were rooted in the Christian worldview. Yes, they were heavily influenced by several pre-Christian Greek philosophers, but the basic ideas of liberty for all and a limited government were directly influenced by thinkers who studied the Scriptures and sought to apply the principles they gleaned on the scale of nations. Times change, though. So do cultures and dominant worldviews. We are no longer in the place of cultural or political power we once held. Some note this fact with glee, others with weeping and gnashing of teeth. The question for we who are still in the church to answer, though, is this: What are we going to do now? Paul offers some advice to Timothy here that is worth heeding.

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Morning Musing: Micah 3:11-12

January 24, 2020January 24, 20202 Comments

“Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe, her priests teach for payment, and her prophets practice divination for silver. Yet they lean on the Lord, saying, ‘Isn’t the Lord among us? No disaster will overtake us.’ Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become ruins, and the temple’s mountain will be a high thicket.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

What kind of influence do you have? Who are some of the people who listen to you and are swayed by what you tell them to think differently than they did before? Who are the people in your life who look to you for assurance that the path they are taking is the right one? The fact is, most people have influence over someone. You have influence over someone. And if you do, how you use that influence matters a great deal.

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Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 15:25-26

November 26, 2018November 20, 2018Leave a comment

“Then the king instructed Zadok, ‘Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor with the Lord, he will bring me back and allow me to see both it and its dwelling place. However, if he should say, “I do not delight in you,” then here I am — he can do with me whatever pleases him.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever tried to squeeze a goldfish? Or how about a wet bar of soap? Or it could be just about anything else small and slippery. It’s not an easy thing to do. The tighter you get, the more likely the thing is to slip out of your hand. There are things and positions in our lives that are like this too. The tighter we try and hold on to them, the more likely they are to slip away from us. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ecclesiastes 9:17

August 20, 2017August 18, 2017Leave a comment

“The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

In spite of all his railing against the inherent unfairness of life in that wisdom doesn’t lead to an end different from a life of folly, Solomon nonetheless settles on the value of wisdom. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ecclesiastes 4:6

August 17, 2017August 15, 20172 Comments

“Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

We live in a culture in which money is everything. Being rich is the chief end of man. For indeed, when you are rich you are freed from the worries and burdens of the world. You can enjoy the pleasures of life more freely and fully. You need not fear when storms rise up. Right???

Not even close, but the illusion here is of the most potent power there is and so we strive and toil and chase after the wind, hoping after a life most of us will never obtain. And for what? In the end, we are too tired to enjoy what we do have and we look on it with contempt anyway because it is not more.

This is vanity and futility and ultimately worthless. Solomon is right. It is better to have less and enjoy it more, than to have two hands full while yet never being able to enjoy it. Find contentment in what you have and the life that you are living with Jesus and you will always have enough. Serve the Lord faithfully in your present circumstances and they will always leave you satisfied. Receive with gladness what He gives and use it faithfully, but make the getting an aim secondary to the faithfulness.